Tagarchief: Western

TV Dungeon: Justified

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld

(2010 – 2015, USA)

Creator: Graham Yost
Cast: Timothy Olyphant, Nick Searcy, Joelle Carter, Jacob Pitts, Erica Tazel, Walton Goggins, Natalie Zea, Jere Burns

6 Seasons (78 Episodes)

“Harlan County, one hell of a place to make your fortune”, quips lawman Raylan Givens (Timothy Olyphant) in one of the final episodes of Justified. It is an homage to Deadwood, another modern reinvention of the western in which Olyphant plays the lead role as sheriff Seth Bullock.

Both Givens and Bullock inhabit a hostile environment, in which long term survival is only possible for the most cunning double crossers, those who are willing to do evil deeds. The lawmen who work these areas also have to adopt or die. And they do…

Justified is based on a short story by Elmore Leonard. The ‘crime laureate’ (1925 – 2013) had a background in Western writing, and it definitely shows. Justified’s hero Raylan Givens is a modern gunslinger, a US marshal who is sent from Miami to his former home region of Eastern Kentucky after a deadly shooting incident.

In this Wild West of the 21st century, he faces off against a whole assortment of rednecks, hillbilly’s, neo-Nazi’s and South-Eastern crime bosses. Not to mention several beautiful Southern dames who surely know how to complicate his life.

His main antagonist is local crime figure Boyd Crowder, who he is acquainted with from his coal mining days. What they have in common is a rotten father who is still active within the Harlan criminal underworld. But despite their similar, rough upbringings, Raylan and Boyd ended up on opposite sides of the law. Their complex relationship is one of the main threats that runs through Justified’s six thirteen-episode seasons.

Timothy Olyphant played a similar role in Deadwood (and as a homage appearance in The Book of Boba Fett), and he was excellent there, but it must be said that in Deadwood, Ian McShane completely steals the show as psychotic saloon boss Al Swearenegen. Although Walton Goggins is great as main villain Boyd Crowder, he doesn’t exactly outstage Olyphant’s hero. On the contrary, Raylan Givens is without a doubt the best performance of Olyphant’s career, and his memorable portrayal is one of the reasons Justified works so well.

Olyphant once jokingly said that Raylan was pretty much a Sam Elliot impression. Funny, because Elliot shows up in the final season as crime boss Avery Markham. He is only one of many interesting criminal characters that make Justified such an extremely enjoyable show. Some last only for an episode, while others make it for multiple seasons. Most eventually meet their demise at the hands of Raylan Givens, because make no mistake: he is a killer, a true violent American hero. And if he thinks a kill is justified, he won’t hesitate to draw and shoot you dead.

The second season is probably the best, but the show remains immensely entertaining throughout its duration. Towards the final seasons, it did find that the story-lines were becoming increasingly unbelievable, but the characters and the dialogues remain a real treat; In 2023, Raylan Givens would return in Justified: City Primeval.

Dungeon Classics #30: The Wild Bunch

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld

FilmDungeon’s Chief Editor JK sorts through the Dungeon’s DVD-collection to look for old cult favorites….

The Wild Bunch (1969, USA)

Director: Sam Peckinpah
Cast: William Holden, Ernest Borgnine, Robert Ryan
Running Time: 145 mins.

Pike Bishop (William Holden) is an aging outlaw who runs a gang called the Wild Bunch in the new American West of 1913, a time of trains and automobiles in which they no longer seem to fit. They get ambushed during their latest score and flee to Mexico, while being hunted by bounty hunters led by one of their former gang members (Robert Ryan). Once in Mexico, they agree to rob a train and steal weapons for a corrupt general after which Pike plans to retire. But if you think the Wild Bunch will disappear quietly into the night, you’re in for a very noisy surprise! The Wild Bunch was controversial at the time for the graphic violence on display and immoral characters in the lead. This was new indeed and clearly an inspiration for filmmakers like Quentin Tarantino. The movie looks and feels very gritty and raw, and the bloody bullet festival in slow motion at the end is a masterful sequence: one of the all-time greatest scenes in cinema history! Fun trivia: actor Robert Ryan was constantly whining to director Peckinpah that he wanted first billing. The director punished him by listing him third on several horses’ asses.

Dungeon Classics #28: Dead Man

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld

FilmDungeon’s Chief Editor JK sorts through the Dungeon’s DVD-collection to look for old cult favorites….

Dead Man (1995, USA, Germany, Japan)

Director: Jim Jarmusch
Cast: Johnny Depp, Gary Farmer, Crispin Glover
Running Time: 121 mins.

A meek accountant called William Blake (Johnny Depp) travels through the old West. His destination is a place called Machine where he is supposedly hired for a job. But is this journey real, or is it a metaphorical journey undertaken by a dead man? He is in hell, a fellow passenger assures him. Things don’t get better when he arrives in Machine. There is no job for him, and he is soon forced to kill a man in self defense, which leads to him becoming a wanted man. He is then taken on a journey to nowhere by an Indian called nobody who believes he is the poet William Blake. Underway, he meets a long list of stupid white men to kill, played by well known actors/artists, including Lance Henriksen, Michael Wincott, Iggy Pop and Alfred Molina. Dead Man is a so-called acid western, a subgenre of the western that ‘subverts many of the conventions of earlier Westerns to conjure up a crazed version of autodestructive white America at its most solipsistic, hankering after its own lost origins’ (Wikipedia). It is another mesmerizing piece of art by writer-director Jim Jarmusch. The beautiful black and white imagery, accompanied by a moody electrical guitar score composed and performed by Neil Young, serves to create a truly unique atmosphere. Dead Man is best described as film as poetry. The images are the words and – like the poetry of William Blake – powerful words they are.

TV Dungeon: Deadwood

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld

(2004 – 2006, USA)

Creator: David Milch
Cast: Timothy Olyphant, Ian McShane, Molly Parker, Brad Dourif, W. Earl Brown, John Hawkes, Paula Malcomson, Powers Boothe

3 Seasons (36 Episodes)


’Some Fortunes Are Better Left Unclaimed’

Sheriff Seth Bullock, pimp and saloon owner Al Swearengen, prostitute Trixie, and alcoholic Calamite Jane. Just a handful of the colorful characters that inhabit the raw and lawless frontier town of Deadwood. In the midst of Indian land, the late 18th century laws don’t apply. The power lies with Al Swearengen and his cronies. Through deceit, intimidation and murder he controls the town. Al Swearengen is Deadwood. But new opportunists arrive that all want their share of the wealth that the trade and the earth in Deadwood generates.

This is certainly one of the most ambitious productions ever by HBO. Not only ambitious in scale but in storytelling as well. These characters are not your average gunslingers. Creator David Milch wanted to show the west as it really was; dirty and corrupted. Filled with people scheming, swearing and double-crossing their way through life. There were no gunfights every ten minutes. Entrepreneurs operated sneakily to be able to fully profit from the rising economy. Although the show reminds of Robert Altman’s McCabe and Mrs. Miller, it is something we haven’t quite seen before.

Deadwood breaks with the typical western tradition. Vicious killers dominate the setting and famous western figures such as Wild Bill Hickok and Wyatt Earp are not the legendary characters they are generally made out to be. They are as human as the rest. Plagued by faults, addictions, self-pity and regrets. Despite their raw nature, the characters talk in very complex Shakespearian dialogues (filled with lots of cuss words) which makes it hard to understand their motivations at times. Figuring out the function of some characters in the main storylines is equally challenging. This, and the fact that there are quite a lot of uneventful episodes, could be off-putting for some viewers.

But those willing to invest their time will be rewarded with beautiful art-direction, cinematography and lighting. Not to mention a few shocking surprises and some monumental performances. The most intriguing (and humorous) character by far is Al Swaerengen, wonderfully portrayed by Ian McShane. He can cut a throat without blinking an eye, but is also able to show mercy and understanding to those in a weaker position. Because of his witty lines, amicable moments, and because of the constantly disgusting behavior of Swearengen’s rival Cy Tolliver, one can easily forget that this is an evil man. The frequent reminders of his ambiguity are among the most powerful moments of the show, as well as other character revelations that often occur in the form of extremely violent outbursts or other displays of ugliness.

Besides McShane, the other casting decisions have turned out very well. Timothy Olyphant is in his element as the frustrated lawman Seth Bullock, and Powers Boothe is utterly hideous as the gambling house owner Cy Tolliver. Then there is Molly Parker as the opium addicted Alma Garret, a widow due to Swearengen’s lust for gold. Her character as well as Calamite Jane’s show the independent spirit of the female, since most other women in the town are ruled by men like Swearengen and Tolliver.

The rise of a civilization is shown in many forms. Business opportunities are exploited and political alliances are formed. In the course of the series Deadwood sees the establishment of a hardware store, a school, a theatre and a bank. Also represented is healthcare (Doc Cochran) and the media (the Deadwood Pioneer). The primary human needs in Deadwood seem to be booze and prostitution though. Swearengen and Tolliver are more than willing to provide the people in that department. The church is only present in the form of one reverend who suffers from a brain tumor. Ironically he gets mercy-killed by Swearengen at the end of the first season.

Deadwood is based on real historic persons and events. Although I doubt that they exactly spoke like these characters, the series feels like an authentic vision of the west. Unfortunately it was cancelled after three seasons. 10 years later it was concluded in a TV-movie.

To those who have seen it already, re-watching the show is recommended. Where the first viewing requires concentration, the second time around more subtle things will come to the surface. You got that, you cocksucker!